Introduction

Teachers and educationalists have traditionally looked to psychology as a source of ideas and evidence about how best to support children’s learning, especially for those who may experience difficulties in learning in school. However the rationale for inclusive education has tended to be sociological, philosophical, political or educational – in fact anything but psychological. Those seeking to promote more inclusive education have often seen psychology and psychologists as part of the problem rather than the solution, referring to the roles of psychology in providing an IQ-based rationale for separating children into special schools (Thomas and Loxley, 2001), or in ascribing difficulties in learning to individual child deficit. Yet psychology can offer important resources to support the development of more inclusive practices in education.